Greg Matthews Scouting Report

Greg Matthews, WR, Michigan

Greg Matthews is a prospect whose team may hurt his stock more than any other in the Big Ten. Matthews had a solid, but unspectacular 2007 season; Most of that was because he was playing behind two NFL draft picks from that season, Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington. He did show flashes of his potential during the 2008 Capital One Bowl, when he caught 7 passes for 62 yards. Matthews finished his sophomore season with 39 catches for 366 yards and 3 touchdowns. The stage was set for him to have a breakout season, until Rich Rodriguez was hired as the new coach. Rodriguez brought his spread option offense to Michigan, which might have been good for Matthews if they had had the personnel to run it properly. Because of the inept quarterback play by the Wolverines last year, he had little opportunity to showcase his skills. Matthews had just 35 catches as a junior for 409 yards, and only scored 2 touchdowns. He has also served as Michigan's primary punt returner during his second and third years, averaging a respectable 8.0 yards per return. Matthews has the size to be a good professional receiver. His 6'3", 207 pound frame will allow him to beat press coverage by smaller defensive backs, and get open down the field. While Matthews doesn't have blazing speed, he is surprisingly quick in and out of his breaks. He had another disappointing season as a senior, with just 29 catches for 352 yards and a single touchdown. This once promising receiver will need to have a superb off season just to sneak into the late rounds of the draft.

Mathews is much better then his numbers indicate, and I think he'll be a solid possession receiver similar to fellow Michigan alum Jason Avant. Playing in Michigan's spread offense where running the ball and utilizing slot receivers is the first priority hurt his numbers as well as playing with low level QBs who aren't suited to play in the spread (Threet and Sheridan).

Posted by:
GoBlue72391 03/29/10 05:07 PM

Prediction: Undrafted

As a Michigan fan I expected alot more out of Mathews but I didn'e get it. Maybe a good wideouts coach can bring the best out of him.